Roman Factions

[Lord_Tamerial]

what is the best roman faction in the game. can you please tell me the advantages(+) and the disadvantages(-) of the roman factions. thanx

[Lord_Tamerial]

what is the best roman faction in the game. can you please tell me the advantages(+) and the disadvantages(-) of the roman factions. thanx

srry. i accidently posted two of roman factions. srry

[KboT]

I believe the roman faction to be overall very good. Personally I like the Brutii (Green romans) as they have Velite Gladitors, which are goo against Chariots and Elephants, while the other two roman factions have Gladiators that are just powerful Infantry (and you'll never use). All roman factions (army wise) are the same except for the Gladiators. And I believe the Brutii to be the best as they can specialize against certian units, unlike the rarely used Julii and Scipii gladiators. In campagin mode though, they have many differences as to where they start and their main enemies.

The only problem I see with the Romans is their lack of Spearmen, and more percisely their lack of Phalanxs. Which I believe to be a very important part of my strategies. Most factions have Phalanxs except for some Barbarian tribes, but they do not need a more defensive formation, as they can just rush in.

Overall the Roman factions are great, and their campagin is alright too. If you're playing multiplayer and like to have a well rounded army I suggest you go for the Selecids. But if you're new and playing campagin, stay far away from the selecids, their campagin is brutally hard.

[Lord_Tamerial]

I always use Brutii too.

[The Stranger]

well you won't need any phalanxes. pilum infantry is way more effective than phalanxes, because most units rout before they'll even hit yuor soldiers. this way you can handle the first wave and charge the other.

i've killed many units this way.

[A.Saturnus]

The temple of Neptune gives you better ships. With deceres, I think the Scipii have the strongest navy in the game. Generally, the Scipii can gain maritime influence quickly and make a lot of money by sea trade.

[Quillan]

The Julii have great temples (Jupiter), great ancillaries (Priest of Jupiter, +1 Command/Management/Influence), and plenty of room to expand into mainland Europe. Their expansions routes are not limited by hostile navies. The big disadvantage of the Julii is financial. The landlocked European provinces don't make money, and the seacoast provinces aren't a lot better.

The Bruti have a natural expansion path into the richest area of the game (the Aegean sea trade makes money hand over fist). The Mars temple can give up to 3 experience to each unit recruited in the city, and the Mercury temples increase trade goods, thus bringing in even more money. You can easily expect to be able to go over a million denarii in the treasury in a Bruti campain. The big disadvantage of the Bruti comes from the same source as their big advantages. The Mars temple is a "temple of violence". Those temples give bad temper traits. You'll have a ton of generals with those vices by the time the campaign ends. Lots of money in the treasury produces wasteful traits in characters. If the Bruti ever manage to fall behind in the money production, they won't have enough Management rankings to make up the difference.

The Scipiones have the worst starting position of any of the roman families. Your two provinces are separated by a sea. You don't have a rebel province to take immediately. Your natural expansion lies into Africa, which is huge, slow going, and not especially valuable. The Scipiones empire tends to be so scattered that the distance to capital penalties are huge, making it hard to maintain order. However, with careful play, the Scipiones have some really nice strengths. Their temples combine the best of the Julii and Bruti features. You have temples that give +law as well as +happiness. You've got temples that upgrade weapons/armor. The upper level temples can provide up to 2 experience to units that are recruited in the city. And you don't have any of the negative violence/temper traits from the Mars line.

Overall, I'd say the Scipiones are the best, but they can be unforgiving to early mistakes. I'd recommend not playing them until you have some experience.

[KboT]

well you won't need any phalanxes. pilum infantry is way more effective than phalanxes, because most units rout before they'll even hit yuor soldiers. this way you can handle the first wave and charge the other.

i've killed many units this way.

What are Pilum Infantry?

[Kaldhore]

Gladiators have some very good uses - as do Arcani.

I'll let you figure them out by yourselves.

[Quietus]

Of the two Roman factions I've played so far, Brutii is the easier. IMO, it is also a lot more fun to play since you get to face those phalanx units early.

Brutii also get rich really quick. The Greek States are very rich. As Julii, the Senate will drag you all over the place and get you in trouble. Not to say it can't be done though.

[The Stranger]

What are Pilum Infantry?

infantry that throws a pilum like hastati scutari legionares.

[KboT]

Well in that case, I don't see how they're more effective. I find most frontal charging units get to my Pilum Infantry before they can throw. The only times I get tosses off is when they're busy with other units and I'm going to throw and flank, or if the opponent is running away.

Am I using them wrong? Should I put on Fire at will (Do they even have that ability?)

[Quietus]

Well in that case, I don't see how they're more effective. I find most frontal charging units get to my Pilum Infantry before they can throw. The only times I get tosses off is when they're busy with other units and I'm going to throw and flank, or if the opponent is running away.

Am I using them wrong? Should I put on Fire at will (Do they even have that ability?)

Fire-At-Will is a MUST. Also put them on Hold. Put archers behind their backs and your General behind the archers (this is your center). For the most part, you can leave them to fend for themselves and micromanage the left and right flanks instead. Put another unit beside the general to reinforce the center in case a heavy cave charges.

Your center formation:

Hastati Hastati Hastati

Archers
Archers
Archers (in long thin lines; disable skirmish, on hold and turn OFF fire at will

General Hastati

[Mountaindew]

its a toss between the scipii and brutii. i have played all 3, and i reckon the julii suck (campaign-wise) but in battle, they are generally the same

i place my bet on the brutii, mainly cos of the rich greek states it can conquer, a potential rebel province grab on 1st turn, and earliest access to asia minor. for the scipii, u gotta have a good army and VERY LARGE AND GOOD navy to be successful...the all the brutii needs is just a good army and a good navy.

go brutii!

[Baiae]

What are Pilum Infantry?

Presumably he means any infantry armed with the pilum.

[lars573]

Well in that case, I don't see how they're more effective. I find most frontal charging units get to my Pilum Infantry before they can throw. The only times I get tosses off is when they're busy with other units and I'm going to throw and flank, or if the opponent is running away.

Am I using them wrong? Should I put on Fire at will (Do they even have that ability?)

Using Roman infantry to it's fullest advantage has as much of a knack to it as using phalanxes do. Just of a different nature. Turning on their fire at will ability will let them loose at least one pilum when being charged. Also keep their cohorts in a 4 rank deep arangement. This lets them take a cavalry charge head on and not be boned right away. Also a 1 pilum is a like a friggin laser beam, it cuts through any armour. Hoplon, mail, cuirriass doesn't matter a pilum hits an enemy they go down simple as that (unless they have multiple hit points). I've killed 25 out of 120 phalanganites with some good pila volleys. Then broke the phalanx after a good charge and melee.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

In my opinion Brutii.
1: Velites may lose to Samnites and Mwhatevers, but they are good vs. chariots andelephants.
2: Isolated position near inflexible enemies. This gives them Sea protection from the start, a great position for building a navy and relatively easy opponents in the early game as long as you flank the phalanxes.
3: Excellent position for taking on other Romans, have no more trouble taking Scicily from Scipii than others and are able to sweep through Italia without allowing the enemy to flank your home provinces.